Real Estate

Lawyer from the Lower Mainland suggests wildfire smoke could drive people out of cities affected by smoke

Aug 30, 2023 | 4:41 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Escaping the wildfire smoke in B.C. is next to impossible, and after a long summer filled with poor air quality, it does bring up the point of what the residents will find a new city with a little bit less haze.

“The question that I’m really asking is what does that look like for the future? What cities are going to go down in terms of house prices and in terms of population, and where are they going to move to?”

– Alistair Vigier, CEO of ClearwayLaw

Months of wildfire smoke could lead to people wanting to relocate within the city, province, or even country. But, the managing broker at Team Powerhouse Realty, Janine Philips, says it’s been quite the opposite.

“We actually are seeing a lot of movement into the city, whether that’s right downtown or in kind of the more rural outlying areas across the board. People are moving into both of those right now.”

– Janine Philips, managing broker at Team Powerhouse Realty

Move or don’t move, there’s never any guarantee that the smoke won’t follow. There are currently over 400 active wildfires in B.C.